Spoilt by a multitude

So, here we are again at the Plitvicka Jezera National Park.

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We took this route before when driving from Zagreb to Split. We passed this park, saw lots of people around but didn’t stop. It was only when walking along the promenade in Split when we found out that this park is called Plitvicka Jezera, that it is the largest national park in Croatia (294.82 km2) and part of the list of UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage sites. The park is famous for its lakes and numerous cascades.

We could not bear the idea of having been so close to this place and not seeing it, so we promised to come back after our return from Bosnia and Montenegro. It was a decision not to take lightly. Going back to this place meant driving 400 kms inland and missing a bit of driving along the lovely Croatian coast. But we felt we have to visit it.

We got back here last night and slept at the same wild spot we did last time. On the way to our stop over, we drove through the national park which was still open and still busy. We wanted to make sure that we could park Dora safely and find out about parking costs and entry fees, we like to prepare everything well in advance.

Parking for Dora, not a problem. Parking costs, €10 per day, not exorbitant. Entry fees…€25   Well, we have to do it now, after driving all this way. I am sure it is worth it.

So here we are, 9.00am and waiting at the end of an already long queue. Their selling tickets system is not very efficient. It is Sunday today, they will probably have thousands coming to their door, and they only have two windows open! Maybe they don’t want to employ more people. If that is the case, how about including the booking in advanced option in their website?

This is absolutely ridiculous, the queue is 100m long. This is not the vatican, and even a few ill educated priests can organise selling of tickets better than this. Buy online, but at an automatic machine, it is not as if these guys are giving out advice, that is a different office! GDR

After half an hour queuing, we enter the park. A map on the right hand site shows the different walking options. We decide to do the longest route (drawn in orange), which involves taking the ferry across the lake (luckily this is included in the entry fee). The estimated time of this walk is about 3 hours.

Walking freely around the park is not allowed, people have to follow timber paths. These paths don’t seem to have been designed well to cope with the thousands of people who visit this park every day.

They are quite narrow, with people also walking in the opposite direction, so the paths get clogged up very easy. I think we could be here all day. The organization here is, once more, appalling.

We forget our disappointment as soon as we reach the first lake. The green-blue colour of the water is so intense, so clean,

the sunlight penetrates deeply into the water, revealing details of the life underneath it.

Dozens of fishes gather at the edges of the paths, waiting to be fed. It is almost like they can sense people around them. The guys in front of us are throwing bread at them. Some people really don’t get it. Where is the caretaker of the park to tell them off, or better, to fine them?

The lakes are known for their cascades. These cascades are formed under very peculiar ecological conditions. Calcium carbonate gets built up from water, creating barriers in karst rivers and streams.

It is a very odd natural phenomenon. You would have thought that the cascades are formed by the strength of water eroding the terrain.

These natural barriers are in constant movement, constantly changing the shape of the cascades.

That’s what they say in the brochure, saying you have to come back the next day because it will all have changed, another €25, ker…ching. GDR

The water can also change its course, creating new waterfalls and drying off old ones.

According to the park, this activity gives the impression that the Plitvice lakes are never the same from one day to another. Really? A bit of exaggeration, isn’t it? Does this mean that this waterfall may not be here tomorrow?

But we have taken this video, which describes better than me what this place is like

We continue to walk painfully slow along the path, enjoying nonetheless many waterfalls of different shapes or forms.

Taking a photo is a bit awkward. People concentrates at the key corners and you have to patiently await your turn.

The paths also take you to hidden caves, which are also packed. My mobile phone’s torch is quite dim, so I follow other’s people lights.

More fishes, these ones look like trout.

We continue along the path which takes us to the little dock where we catch the ferry across the lake. The queue is also long but they have frequent services. We get on the first ferry.

The short cruise is quite pleasant. The boat goes around hidden corners, which gives us the chance to admire more amazing waterfalls. I am glad we have chosen this route. We wouldn’t have known this part of the park otherwise.

More waterfalls in the distance. The water falling down bushes and shrubs looks like it has formed stalactites.

The boat journey lasts hardly 10 minutes. We take the timber path at the other side to complete the walk.

It is lunchtime. We have brought a picnic with us, we just need to find a nice place to sit down. Most of the benches along the path are taken. We come across a meadow, where we sit down to have our lunch.

When we go back to the path, we see a sign saying “Do not leave the path please”  Sorry, we didn’t see the sign – and we are glad we didn’t, having our lunch here was much nicer than sitting on a bench by the side of the path, watching lots of people passing through– .

The path climbs up to the top of the gorge, where our walk ends. There, a bus will be waiting for people to take us back to the park entry.

But we still have lots of waterfalls to enjoy

It was only a couple of days ago when we visited Krka national park. Although, the theme of both parks is very similar, how they are presented to the public is totally different.

The former was smaller, more condensed. It had also timber built paths for people to cross lakes and streams but you could walk freely around it, you could even climb to small outcrops rocks on your own to admire cascades from higher. It was also busy but it felt people were more spread out.

Here, you have to follow the path, you walk around it in a queue, you can’t step on the grass; it is awkward to stop and take a photo, as you would stop the whole row of people; it is difficult to overtake, as you come across people coming from the other direction, you are forced to walk at the same pace at everybody else. All of these have transformed a wild natural park into an artificial open air museum.

At times, you feel so removed from nature…

We have arrived at the end of the walk, join another queue to get on the bus back to the entrance of the park.

From the top, we take the last photos of the still, a very lovely place.

What can they do to make the experience a bit more enjoyable?

They could limit the amount of people entering the park.

They could build different itineraries, with different themes, different walking lengths, at different prices.

€25 fee per person is not cheap, especially if you bring kids. The other problem I see with having this one ticket fee is that people may feel they have to stick around a bit longer to make it worth it. Therefore, people don’t come and go, and the park ends up being packed all day.

But perhaps the crowd is not such a problem.

People seem to be enjoying it anyway.

And the park is earning lots of money.

Is this the future of all our most beautiful spots on earth. As people get more affluent, more will want to visit, and they will all get overloaded. We tend to seek out the more remote areas simple because they are less congested, less people, in the future this may not be realistic! Progress. GDR

SM